INDIANAPOLIS—They were pushed, really, for the first time in these playoffs, after cruising past Milwaukee with a sweep in the first round, then suffering a lone speed-bump loss in the second round against the Bulls. In losing Game 2 to Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals—on the heels of a Game 1 overtime win that easily could have gone the other way—the inevitability of the Heat’s slot in the NBA Finals took a decided hit.

And then the first half of Game 3 happened, and in the span of just 24 minutes, the Heat played a nearly flawless two periods that turned the notion of Miami’s vulnerability on its head. They shot 62.8 percent from the field. They committed one turnover. They took 14 free throws and made 13 of them. They scored a franchise-record 70 points. There’s no need for advanced stats to explain that kind of dominance—the Heat’s offensive efficiency rating in that span was, “Yes.”

Dwyane Wade's Game 3 effort played into a resurgence of the Miami Heat offense. (AP Photo)

In the end, the Heat won Game 3, 114-96, briefly allowing the Pacers back into the game in the third quarter before slamming shut that opening. In doing so, the Heat delivered the message that they were so obviously intent on giving out, reasserting their dominance over the Eastern Conference and claiming vengeance for the way they let Game 2 slip away.

“We were disappointed,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s where you have to embrace the competition. Look, Game 2, I’m sure there’s so many storylines out there, but the fact is they beat us. There’s two competitive teams going after it. They made more plays going down the stretch. There’s no excuses. They beat us. So our guys didn’t feel good about that. … We had 48 hours to lament it and leave it behind us.”

After the game, the Heat said the right things about this not being a message-type game. Believe it if you will, but make no mistake, Spoelstra had four of his five starters—LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers—on the floor with less than three minutes to play, the Heat up by 18 and the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse having already solemnly filed toward the exits. The Heat did not just want to win this game, they wanted to pulverize the acorn of hope that the Pacers had planted in the wake of the series’ first two games.

It started, naturally, with James, who set the tone for Miami with his performance in the post in the first half. James bulled his way into the paint time and time again, mocking the Pacers’ attempt to keep him single-covered by Paul George, the guy on whom James had heaped praise just two nights ago. James ensured that the Miami offense got off to a solid inside-out start, taking eight of his 11 first-half shots in the paint, and making six of them. James finished with 22 points on the night—George, meanwhile, scored just 13 on 3-for-10 shooting.

“I’ve got to push him out,” George said. “Make him shoot shots that are tougher. Not give up layups. I knew he was going to change the way he attacked this game, try to get easy baskets. But I have got to push him out a little further. I know my team will be there to help.”

But this went beyond George’s defense down low on James. We saw the Heat get contributions from spots on the roster that had been heretofore dormant. Forward Udonis Haslem, who had been 1-for-7 for three points in the first two games, was huge in Game 3. He found some confidence in his midrange jumper, taking advantage of Pacers center Roy Hibbert’s tendency to play off of him, and finished 8-for-9 with 17 points.

Shooting guard Ray Allen, mired in a dreadful slump, chipped in two 3-pointers—the first time he has made multiple 3s in a game since April 28, against the Bucks. Heck, even Shane Battier, who had been 0-for-7 in the two games in Miami, shook off his funk and actually made a shot, sinking a 3-pointer 43 seconds into the fourth quarter.

“It’s a very good defensive team, so you have to be committed to moving the ball, letting other guys make the plays,” Spoelstra said. “It’s a tough team to self-will against. They’re too good, they pack the paint and they play that defense against one-on-one play as well as anybody in the league. So, it was a better team effort, even though we only had 21 assists. The ball was moving. More guys were involved and we’re a better team when that’s the case.”

Entering this postseason, this was supposed to be an improved version of the Heat, deeper and much better than the one that won a championship last season. In those playoffs, the Heat had to come from behind to erase a 2-1 deficit to the Pacers in the conference semifinals, then win two straight games after falling behind, 3-2, against Boston in the East finals. But the first two games against the Pacers left some doubt about whether Miami was the juggernaut it was cracked up to be.

The Pacers could come back and tighten their defense in Game 4, could do a better job committing to double-teams on James in the post, could lean on the law of averages and bet that Miami can’t shoot that well two games in a row. Indiana could win and recapture the series momentum. It’s just one game, after all.

But there was a message wrapped up in that game, the return of the invincible Heat so many were expecting in these playoffs. The Pacers will be hard-pressed to come up with a response.